


Prompt 8: Dream

by GemmaRose



Series: 32 Days of Sanji 2017 [8]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, Drowning, Gen, Lucid Dreaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 11:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11645748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Sanji halfway thought dreamwalkers were a myth, until one crashed into his nice peaceful dreamscape and almost drowned.





	Prompt 8: Dream

Sanji floated on his back, arms spread out to his sides, watching the clouds pass by overhead. He liked it here, the water was just the right temperature and he never felt cold when the wind blew over his wet skin. It was quiet, save the occasional cry of a gull and the water against his skin. He didn’t even have to hold his breath when he swam down to watch the fish, the water flowed in and out of his lungs as easily as air. It wasn’t as cool as what Zeff described his own dreamscape to look like, but Sanji wouldn’t trade this place for anything.

Soft splashes of fishes jumping out of the water brought a smile to his face. A louder splash drew his attention, and he swung his feet down to sink underwater. Spinning towards the noise, he expected to see a dolphin or some kind of giant flying fish. Maybe even a mermaid ♡

He did not expect to see two boys around his own age.

The darker of the two yelled something, a cloud of bubbles leaving his mouth as he swam down after his quickly sinking friend. His sinking, unconscious friend, who was rapidly approaching the depth where nightmares happened. Sanji started swimming down after them, heart pounding in his ears. The water down there was like molasses, it weighed you down and clogged your lungs and forced dark thoughts into your head. Sanji pushed harder against the water, shooting forwards past the boy with the weird nose and grabbing the one with the funny hat by one wrist.

The arm in his hand stretched, and he let go as if burned. What was happening? First other people in his dream, now one of them was- were they demons? The one with the long noise swam past him and grabbed the paler boy by the shirt. “Help me!” he screamed, struggling to pull his friend up. The boy’s feet were perilously close to the dark, shadowy nightmare depths, and Sanji’s heart leapt up into his throat as he spotted the giant snail which roamed the floor of his dreamscape. Not even demons deserved to go down there. He grabbed the back of the boy’s shirt, and together they managed to swim back up to the surface.

“Hold him.” the long-nosed boy demanded, shoving the unconscious one into Sanji’s arms.

“Who even are you?” Sanji asked, struggling to keep the boy’s head above water.

“Usopp.” the long-nosed boy replied, and then he lifted his hands from the water and clapped, and a rowboat appeared. Sanji was so startled, he nearly dropped the boy in his arms. Usopp hauled himself up into the boat casually, as if it hadn’t just appeared out of thin air, then turned around and held out his arms. Sanji gave him the unconscious boy, then hesitantly pulled himself up onto the boat too. It felt real enough, the wood solid beneath his hands, and after a moment he stared at Usopp in awe.

“You’re a dreamweaver.” he breathed, the word strange on his tongue. “I’ve heard stories, but-”

“Me?” Usopp chuckled, thumping on his friend’s chest. “I’m no dream _weaver_. A spinner, at best, honestly.”

The boy laid out in the bottom of the rowboat coughed, then turned on his side and retched seawater with a moan. Sanji perched on the rear bench, and watched as Usopp shook his friend awake. “What’s wrong with him?” he asked when the paler boy’s head flopped back bonelessly for the third time. “Did you weave out his bones or something?”

“What?” Usopp frowned. “No, he just does that; he’s made of rubber. He’ll be fine once he dries off.”

“Made of-” Sanji’s brow pinched. “Did you just make me help you save a _toy_?” he asked sharply.

“No!” Usopp exclaimed. “Luffy’s my friend, not a toy.”

“People aren’t made of rubber.” Sanji said, crossing his arms.

“Luffy ate a devil fruit.” Usopp explained as his friend hauled himself up onto the front bench.

“Le’s go back to my dream.” Luffy mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “This one sucks.”

“Hey!” Sanji exclaimed. “Take that back, you jerk! All Blue is the best!”

“I’m sure it is, but how about we go back to Luffy’s dreamscape anyways?” Usopp suggested. “He’s got a huge boat we won’t have to worry about capsizing.”

“Wait.” Sanji’s eyes widened as it finally hit him that these two were in _his_ dreamscape instead of their own dreams. “Are you telling me that kid is a dreamwalker?”

“Yep.” Luffy responded with a grin. True to Usopp’s word, he did seem to be perking up as he dried. “You’re the third dream I’ve found!”

“The other guy isn’t around much, cuz he sleeps at weird times, but he’s _super_ cool.” Usopp added.

“So, wanna come see my pirate ship?” Luffy asked with a bright grin and an extended hand. “One day I’m gonna get a real one just like it and then I’m gonna be king of the pirates!”

Sanji laughed, and took Luffy’s hand. “Sure thing.”

The way this kid talked made it seem like anything was possible, even finding All Blue. The world warped around him, and he stumbled as the three of them were dropped on the grassy deck of a ship easily as big as the Orbit had been.

“This is my ship.” Luffy said, as if it wasn’t obvious already. The flag above had his straw hat painted on it. “Usopp’s gonna be my sniper, once I get big enough to go be a pirate on my own.”

“Like, in real life?” Sanji asked, wandering over to the smooth wooden railings and looking out over their surroundings. He could make out the vague shapes of islands near the horizon, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but the sun on the waves only glimmered instead of blinding.

“Yeah!” Usopp answered enthusiastically. “We’re both in East Blue, so once he sets out we can meet. Assuming he remembers when he wakes up, that is.” Sanji nodded. Dream memories were hard to hold on to, though he’d heard that dreamweavers had an easier time of it than most.

“I’m in East Blue too.” Sanji volunteered, turning around to face the other boys.

“You can join my crew too!” Luffy declared, grabbing a tiny captain’s coat from the ground by the mast and slinging it over his shoulders. “Hey, hey, what are you good at?”

“Well, uh.” Sanji looked aside, and he could feel his cheeks pinking. “Not much, really. I can kinda swordfight, and I like cooking, but-”

“Can you make meat?!” Luffy asked, suddenly in Sanji’s face.

“Um, yes?”

“You can be my chef!” Luffy yelled, jumping up and punching the air. “Yosh! Got someone to make me _meat_!”

“Luffy’s a bit of a carnivore.” Usopp supplied. “Make him meat and you’re his favourite person in the world.”

“And what if I don’t want to be a pirate?” Sanji asked. Luffy and Usopp both stared at him blankly.

“Why would you _not_ want to be a pirate?” Luffy asked.

“Well, what if I wanna be a cook?”

“You can be a pirate cook!”

“Like in a restaurant.”

“That’s lame.” Luffy said bluntly, picking his nose. “Being a pirate is super cool, and I’ve already decided you’re joining my crew, so there.” He pulled his finger from his nose and stuck his tongue out, and Sanji wondered just how old these two were. At first he’d guessed they were around his own age, but now he was starting to think they were younger by at least a year or two, maybe more for Luffy.

“You can’t just decide that for someone, Luffy!” Usopp yelled, hitting his friend in the back of head hard enough that Luffy’s head actually bobbled back and forth.

“Yeah I can.” Luffy insisted, stilling his head by grabbing it in both hands. “I’m the captain, I decide who goes on my crew. Sanji can cook meat, so he’s on my crew.”

“Yeah, but what if his dream is to work in a restaurant?” Usopp asked. Sanji leaned back against the railing. “You wouldn’t take him away from his dream, would you?”

“But his dream wasn’t a restaurant.” Luffy said, cocking his head to the side. “His dream was All Blue, right Sanji?” Luffy looked at him, and Sanji blinked in surprise.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s just what I think it looks like, but-”

“You wanna see it for real?” Luffy asked, and Sanji nodded.

“More than anything.”

“Then join my crew!” Luffy crowed. “We’re going all the way to One Piece, so we’ll definitely find All Blue on the way.”

Sanji couldn’t help but chuckle at Luffy’s enthusiasm. His excitement was a bit contagious, permeating the dreamscape’s atmosphere and creeping under Sanji’s skin. “Alright, you’ve got me sold.” he said, pushing off the railing. “If you can find me in real life, I’ll join your pirate crew. ”

**Author's Note:**

> When he wakes up, Sanji has a sense of foreboding and a vague feeling like he's made a mistake. Luffy, as usual, remembers nothing. Usopp remembers just about everything.


End file.
